The Hierophant is card V of the Major Arcana in the Thoth Tarot. In a reading it speaks of teaching, tradition, revelation and initiation. In the Golden Dawn system it corresponds to the Hebrew letter Vau, path 16 of the Tree of Life between Chokmah and Chesed, the element Earth and Taurus in astrology.
teaching · tradition · revelation · initiation · perseverance
What does The Hierophant mean?
Seek or offer teaching; established ways and authoritative advice are useful now. A formal commitment is possible.
Everyday meaning
Institutions, teaching, wise counsel, formal unions and contracts. It points to the search for a guide or to joining a consolidated tradition.
Psychological meaning
The inner voice that links experience and meaning, the ability to learn and to pass on; but also your relationship with moral norms and authority.
Initiatic meaning
Path 16 from Chokmah to Chesed, the letter Vau (the nail, 6) and Taurus, the fixed Earth sign in which the Moon is exalted: Wisdom fixing itself into doctrine. It is the nail that joins the higher world to the lower, revelation becoming patient teaching.
The shadow side
Ill-dignified, it signals dogmatism, conformism, hypocrisy, dependence on an external master.
The Hierophant reversed
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading:
Rejection of rules that have grown tight, or attachment to dogma; the true teacher must also be sought within.
The Hierophant in love, work and spirit
In love
A formalised union, shared values; or a bond lived out of duty more than choice.
At work and career
Training, mentoring, bodies and institutions; structured contracts and paths that demand constancy.
In spiritual practice
Initiation and transmission: tradition as a vehicle, not as a cage.
Kabbalah, astrology and the Hebrew letter of The Hierophant
Vau ו (6) · path 16: Chokmah – Chesed · Earth · Taurus
Crowley on The Hierophant
The Hierophant of the Thoth deck announces the new Aeon: in the pentagram on his chest the child Horus dances, and before him stands an armed woman; his ambiguous smile guards a secret not yet fully revealed.
Frequently asked questions
What does The Hierophant mean in the Thoth Tarot?
Seek or offer teaching; established ways and authoritative advice are useful now. A formal commitment is possible.
What does The Hierophant mean in love?
A formalised union, shared values; or a bond lived out of duty more than choice.
What does The Hierophant mean for work and career?
Training, mentoring, bodies and institutions; structured contracts and paths that demand constancy.
What does The Hierophant mean reversed?
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading: Rejection of rules that have grown tight, or attachment to dogma; the true teacher must also be sought within.
What are the Kabbalah and astrology correspondences of The Hierophant?
In the Golden Dawn system The Hierophant corresponds to the Hebrew letter Vau, path 16 of the Tree of Life between Chokmah and Chesed, the element Earth and Taurus in astrology.
